Unaffordable rent increases are stretching budgets to breaking point for older renters, a charity has warned.

According to Independent Age, older private renters on a low income are dealing with ‘constant worry’ and are forced to make dangerous cuts to budgets to afford rent.

The hardship charity says that almost 1 in 6 (15%) older renters have less than £100 of disposable income to spend each month after paying rent, leaving little to cover food and bills.

Independent Age is now calling on the government to implement the Renters (Reform) Bill, uprate Housing Benefit and give powers to local authorities to implement rent controls.

The charity has launched a new research report, Hidden Renters: The unseen faces of the rising older rental wave, which warns that the cost of renting is increasing poverty in later life, with older private renters three times more likely to live in poverty than homeowners.

Based on in-depth interviews of over 40 older private renters on a low income and polling of more than 1,800 private renters in later life, the report shows that older people are being forced to pay significant increases in rent just to be able to stay in often substandard and sometimes dangerous rented homes.

Research for the Hidden Renters report found that:

• Almost half (45%) of older private renters surveyed have seen a rent rise in the last year
• Over half of these increases (57%) were between £50 and £200
• More than 1 in 5 (22%) of all older private renters in England said that they now cannot comfortably afford their rent.

Interviewees talked about skipping meals, avoiding using their heating and not turning on the lights at home so they could afford their rent. Others said they might be forced to move after living years in the same home which can be physically demanding and expensive.

Independent Age is calling on the government to unfreeze Housing Benefit so it covers the cheapest 30% of the local private housing market. Rents nationwide have gone up by an average of 10.4% in the last year alone. However, Housing Benefit, which almost half of all older private renters rely on to pay their rent, has been frozen since 2020. This means that older people are trying to meet unmanageable rent increases and are forced to make dangerous cuts to their budget. 51% of those on Housing Benefit shared that they occasionally or often felt anxiety about affording their rent, compared to the (still high) 42% of those not receiving the entitlement.

As a result of the lack of alternative affordable housing for older people, many reported that they were extremely anxious about the threat of eviction from their current home.

All private renters currently lack security as they can be asked to leave at any time and through no fault of their own by being served a Section 21 ‘No fault eviction’ notice, which gives them just two months to vacate the property and find somewhere affordable and suitable to live.

The charity found that this worry means older renters are putting up with substandard homes, as almost 1 in 5 (19%) felt uncomfortable raising complaints to their landlord about issues with their home. This figure was higher for those in receipt of Housing Benefit, with 28% saying they’ve avoided raising concerns, possibly because of having a lower income and being even less able to find an alternative affordable home.

Overall, research for the Hidden Renters report found that 17% of all older private renters were concerned that their landlord could ask them to move out unexpectedly within the next 12 months. 86% said that knowing they could stay as long as they needed in their home would improve their experience of renting. Independent Age says that this shows the precariousness of being a private renter in later life on a low income and calls on the Government to implement the Renters (Reform) Bill in full, which it says will give greater protections to all private renters.

John Palmer, Director of Influencing and Engagement at Independent Age, said: “None of us expect to live our later years scraping by so we can afford our rent. But for many older private renters, this is their reality. It also means they are putting up with insecure, dangerous and unsuitable homes that are hazardous to their health so they can stay somewhere they can barely afford. Older private renters on a low income urgently need help with the housing emergency they find themselves facing.

“The government must take action to fix the broken private rental sector now. The government should raise Local Housing Allowance so that it covers the cheapest 30% of the local private rental market, and ensure that this is updated annually so renters aren’t forced into poverty when rents go up. The Renters Reform Bill must be debated and passed as soon as possible, and include an end to ‘no fault’ evictions and outlawing the practice by landlords of banning benefit recipients which often end up hurting older renters on a fixed income.”

Independent Age says that the current private rented sector in England is not fit for the growing number of older people who deserve a home that is affordable, safe and that they can stay long-term. Their recommendations include:

• The government should unfreeze Local Housing Allowance, ensuring it covers the cost of renting the cheapest 30% of the market in the local area. Housing Benefit should continue to be uprated annually to accurately reflect the cost of renting
• The government should give local authorities the power to moderate and cap in-tenancy rent increases and give them more power and funding to enforce existing laws
• The government should pass and fully implement the Renters Reform Bill, which should include outlawing blanket bans on benefit recipients by landlords, extending the notice period of evictions from two months to four months and introducing measures to raise the standards of homes in the private rented sector
• Increased government investment in social housing.

Read the full report here.